Learners and Leaders Rise to the Pandemic Challenge
Policy & Data, Research, Resources
As we begin to look forward to Ontario opening up more as the COVID-19 pandemic comes under better control, I am inspired by the extent to which Lawson Centre scholars and practitioners have been able to pivot their ways of working and continue to have impacts across the entire field of child nutrition.
Most importantly, as a collective, we continue to work to address and resolve newly arising and long existing challenges in child nutrition and how we conduct our work towards our vison of healthy children living longer through better nutrition. Fresh global data are documenting how huge the knock-on impacts of COVID-19 are turning out to be on children, and how urgently we must understand the situation and take evidence-informed action:
Learning and social development: UNICEF’s recent Annual Report suggests 94% of children globally have to-date been affected by school closures, with 1 in 3 unable to access remote learning, and 1 in 7 (1.6 billion) having their physical activities and social interactions limited under a stay-at-home policy.
Food system disruptions: Disruptions to the food systems also resulted in 44 million children hungry, and the World Food Programme estimated early in the pandemic that 369 million children missed out on school meals during closure, with the anticipated numbers likely to be higher. For low- and middle-income countries it is estimated that an additional 9.3 million will be underweight by 2022, and $29.7 billion lost in productivity. Already UNICEF/ WHO/ World Bank Group data suggest increasing trends in child malnutrition (45.4 million underweight, 149.2 shorter than they could be) and overweight (38.9 million children globally); and UNESCO and WHO recommend that schools be health-promoting in a post-pandemic world.
And all of this is set against the backdrop of a national tragedy here in Canada: the recent discovery of the remains of hundreds of Indigenous children at residential school sites in B.C. and Saskatchewan. There will be more to come as investigations continue.
We stand in solidarity with our Indigenous sisters and brothers, united not only in grief but in our collective resolve to ensure a future free from racism, a future that respects and celebrates the rightful place of all Indigenous peoples.
Please have a safe and healthy summer,
Daniel Sellen
Director, Joannah & Brian Lawson Centre for Child Nutrition
The Joannah & Brian Lawson Centre for Child Nutrition at the University of Toronto has created five fellowships to tackle nutrition education and child health in Canada and globally, with a broad focus on practitioner knowledge, health systems and public health.
Three new faculty members from the University of Toronto have joined the Joannah & Brian Lawson Centre for Child Nutrition this year, bringing expertise in nutrition, chronic disease and child health, and undertaking innovative research.
Most of us have a reasonable understanding that the foods we eat can impact our health. Yet, consistently choosing the foods that can maximize our wellbeing can feel more difficult than ever.